Recovery
by The Character's Death
Summary: YAY! A whole 30 days in the real world! Here you go, guys! A sequel, and follow-up, to Dear Agony. This story is dedicated to my dear friend, Wild Innocence. I originally wrote this for myself...but now it has become a story for the both of us. I hope you like it. Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket...and now want to own Haru AND Yuki Sohma. *Oneshot/Complete*


**30 days in the real world, people! This story is for everyone who has had difficulties, daily struggles, and tragedy hit them. We are not alone! Come, follow me, to better days! And a special and heartfelt dedication to my dear friend, FragrantRose, who recently experienced a devastating tragedy in her life. May your heart find healing and comfort, friend, and know you are not alone in this.**

* * *

He breathed slowly, closing his eyes and focusing on the air entering and exiting his lungs. Hearing the sound of the crowd _still_ made him nervous...but he was ready. Waiting to go on stage, he began to think about how he had finally arrived at this point in his life. He tried to comprehend why he was doing this…then he remembered… he was doing this tonight for himself. He had finally found his own reason to continue...to move forward. Hearing a knock at the door he gave a light smile, opening his eyes.

"…you sure about this, man?" The voice came low and cautious. "The place is packed tonight…" Another pause of hesitation followed, and Yuki's smile spread despite himself. "It's not too late to call it a night."

"Haru, the _only_ other thing I have been more certain of in my life is her." Yuki replied, continuing once more when he saw his ex-roommate needed more convincing. "Let's do this shit." He declared with a confident smile, and Haru began to laugh.

"Quit stealing my lines." Haru chided playfully as Yuki raised a glass of clear liquid to his lips.

"Maybe I would if I wasn't spending so much damn time with you lately!" Yuki retorted, continuing to sip down the liquid as Haru gave a look of mild revolution.

"That's just disgusting…drinking _tap_ water…" Haru mumbled under his breath. "You know what kind of nasty ass germs are _in_ tap water?" And without even looking Yuki raised his left hand and slowly erected his middle finger in Haru's direction as he finished what was left in his glass.

"So…have you seen your baby mama yet?" Haru asked as he casually leaned against the doorframe to the dressing room, a smirk playing across his lips at Yuki's gesture.

"Call her that again…and I swear I will bitch-slap you so hard your mother will feel it." Yuki warned, his expression turning serious, which only caused Haru to let out a low chuckle.

"You know…you're really _hot_ when you're angry…" Haru purred, causing Yuki to purse his lips, his expression shifting into a scowl.

"And you're _still_ an ass…" Yuki spat, causing Haru's smile to broaden as a moment of silence passed between them.

"The opening band is wrapping up in 15 minutes, so you might want to start getting ready if you're going through with this." Haru responded, his expression turning guarded once again.

"I'm ready. Just give me 5 more minutes in here." Yuki whispered, knowing in his heart that it was now or never.

As Haru left the dressing room Yuki took out a tube of black lipstick. Holding the memento a small, sad, smile played across his lips as memories flooded his mind. Removing the cap, and extending the tube, Yuki took a deep breath. Taking a look at his reflection, he raised the lipstick to the mirror and began to write. This had been a daily routine he had developed, and maintained, for the past year. Reading over the script, he placed the lipstick down, and stood up to leave the dressing room and find Haru. Before leaving, he took one last glance in the mirror…at himself…and the words he had written. A soft smile played across his lips…maybe these words would help the next person to sit in this chair.

_Lord, Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,_

_Courage to change the things I can,_

_And wisdom to know the difference._

Walking through the corridor, Yuki thought about the last time he had been here. After Akito had passed, they made the decision to move forward and continue with the performances that were already booked out. Things had gone well in the beginning, but it didn't take long for everything to fall apart. The hole inside of Yuki had continued to grow, despite all of his efforts to move forward with his life, and he finally hit rock bottom when he overdosed with alcohol and pills in the backstage dressing room before one of their live performances…his last. Had Haru not found him…Yuki knew. He knew it would have been the end…of everything.

In the beginning, he had been so angry with Haru that he refused to see him for the first month he was hospitalized. When Yuki was no longer deemed a suicide risk, they moved him to a treatment center where he was mandated to enroll in substance abuse and addiction counseling. When he first went to group counseling, he had expected to be treated…differently. But inside this place…and away from the world he had come from…he began to find himself again. That's when he found…_her_. Lost in his thoughts as he continued down the corridor, Yuki's eyes finally met large, innocent ones that greeted him with an equally innocent and sweet smile.

"Tohru…" His words came out in a sigh as he went to embrace her, kissing her on the top of her head as she giggled. "You look amazing." He continued, taking in the large bump underneath her lavender sundress until his attention was taken over by the screams of small children as his smile widened.

"Uncle Yuki!" They shrieked as he crouched to the ground, the two orange haired children crashing into him…knocking him to the ground as he laughed.

"You guys excited for the show?" He asked as they began to crawl over his lap and shoulders.

"Yeah!" They giggled in unison, and crimson eyes met his as the little boy grabbed around Yuki's neck.

"Mommy says we get to say up _really_ late tonight!" He said, and his little sister began to squeal with delight on top of Yuki's shoulders.

"If you're good for your mommy tonight…I'll let you put makeup on crazy Uncle Haru after the show, okay?" Yuki whispered to the boy, and they both began to scream and giggle.

"…what are you letting my kids get away with this time…Sohma?" A stern voice grabbed their attention as Kyo came up from behind Tohru and wrapped his arms around her tiny, pregnant, frame, resting his chin on her shoulder…a smirk playing across his lips.

"Daddy! Daddy!" The children squealed as they quickly dismounted Yuki and ran to wrap themselves around Kyo's legs, the spitting image of their father.

"Shouldn't you be giving your poor wife a break by now?" Yuki quipped, rising to his feet as he met Kyo with a smirk of his own. "…she's not a baby factory, you know…" And he watched in amusement as Kyo's cheeks burned red with embarrassment…Tohru simply giggling in response.

"We should go find our seats." Tohru's sweet voice broke their standoff, and Kyo released her to scoop up their little girl, as their son took both of their hands and began swinging between them as they walked away.

"I still can believe she married that asshole and they made babies…" Haru spat, causing Yuki to turn in his direction.

Haru stood behind Rin, wrapping his arms protectively around her as they both watched the family walk down the corridor and disappear into the distance. Had Yuki not known her so well, he would have completely missed the brief moment of pain in Rin's eyes as she watched them leave. Haru and Rin had been seeing each other secretly for a while, and at the time they had both done it just to piss Akito off. But when Rin discovered she was pregnant they had decided to go public with their relationship. Yuki was completely stunned at how excited Haru was to be a father, and watched his friend change and grow for the better. Three months into the pregnancy, they faced a tragedy that threatened to tear them apart when Rin suddenly miscarried. As much as Rin had tried to push him away, Haru stayed by her side, and they had become stronger for it. But Rin still struggled, going back and forth between blaming herself…and blaming him.

"Hey Rin." Yuki whispered, and Rin's expression turned gentle as she gave him a sweet smile.

"Hey Yuki." She responded as she moved away from Haru to greet him. "You look great." She whispered back to him as they embraced.

"I feel pretty great." He murmured as his heart thrilled at the truth of his own words. "How…" His voice became hesitant as he felt her bury herself deeper into his chest. "How are you doing…"

"I'm doing okay…" Her voice came muffled, and Yuki held her a little tighter, until Haru broke through the moment with his big mouth.

"Hello, nurse!" He shouted, letting out a low whistle, and Yuki simply sighed and shook his head as he finally released Rin from their embrace.

"Haru…you _know_ I'm not a nurse anymore…" A gentle voice came from behind Yuki, and he felt his very soul respond to that voice…_her_ voice…a voice he knew he would respond to from beyond the grave.

Turning his gaze towards the face he knew from memory, a smile lit his entire face as he practically ran to the woman standing in front of him. During his stay in the treatment center Yuki had fallen head-over-heals in love with this nurse on staff and, at the time, there had been more than a few jokes made at his expense as to why. Thanks to numerous, wild accusations…and a particularly catchy song by Maynard James Keenan…the couple was still feeling the ramifications of the dubious beginnings of their relationship. In fact, the first time Yuki had proposed to her she had turned him down, telling him that they _both_ knew they would never have a normal marriage or life together. After some overwhelming persistence on his part, and two more rejections on hers, she had finally said yes and they were married a month later.

"Machi!" His voice came out in a rush as he pulled her into himself and spun her around, showering her face and lips with passionate kisses as she began to giggle.

"Get a room, man…you got five minutes!" Haru hollered at the couple's public display of affection, and Yuki shot him a frighteningly violent glare that told Haru to back off.

"Be good to my husband." Machi chided Haru, and Yuki wrapped himself around her as a smirk played across his lips in response to Haru's completely defeated expression.

"You guys are no fun…" Haru grumbled, and they both began to laugh as he continued to sulk.

"I'm going to go find my seat." Rin smiled at her boyfriend as she gave him a comforting embrace…finding him absolutely irresistible when he was brooding like this, as she whispered something in his ear that immediately made him perk right up.

"I call that a date, babe." He growled in her ear, causing her to let out a giggle, and as she began to walk away he quickly smacked her backend to move her along as a cheeky smile spread across his lips.

"So…" Machi's voice came gentle as she turned around to face Yuki. "Are you ready for this?" She asked, peering deep into his eyes, her expression so serene and calm that Yuki was instantly put at ease as he nodded.

"Yeah…I'm ready." He whispered to her, his tone filled with confidence, his gaze clear and focused as he gave her a soft smile.

Machi put her tiny hands on Yuki's arms, running them slowly down the length of his forearms as her fingers gently trailed across each leather strap, finally taking his hands in hers. They held each other's gazes, speaking to each other without saying a word. The silence was finally broken when Machi parted her lips to speak.

"You know…" She whispered, continuing to hold his gaze. "You don't have to wear these anymore." And Yuki felt her gently squeeze his hands comfortingly as he nodded.

"I know." Came his response as he gave her a small smile…he had stopped hiding his scars from her a long time ago. "I think I have an idea about that…" Yuki stated slowly as his smile widened.

Yuki slowly stooped to one knee, trailing his fingers along either side of Machi's waist as he nuzzled his face tenderly into her abdomen. She began to giggle, finding it adorable that Yuki had began to do this constantly from the first moment he found out that she was pregnant with their first child. Vibrations tickled her abdomen as she felt him humming into her stomach, and she gently ran her fingers through his hair, listening to him sing to their baby.

"Okay, little one." Yuki whispered to her stomach. "Daddy's got to go kick some ass on stage now." And a quick pop to the top of his head caused Yuki to flinch and look up at his wife with a confused look…taking in her playfully stern expression as she looked down at him.

"Oh…" He whispered up to her, a deep crimson painting his pale cheeks. "Sorry about that…" And she began to giggle as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Honestly, Yuki…" Machi chided playfully, continuing to giggle. "Our child is going to end up with your good looks _and_ bad mouth."

"Some of us are already taking bets over the first four letter word…" Haru commented from the sidelines with a smirk.

"…Haru." Yuki groaned into Machi's abdomen, not entirely surprised by his friend's announcement.

"Shouldn't you be guessing as to whether the baby will be a boy or girl?" Machi asked playfully.

"That's just boring." Haru retorted, causing Machi to giggle again.

"Alright, it's show time." Haru announced as Yuki finally stood and began to move towards his friend. "Time to rock this shit out." The two gave each other a fist bump as they prepared to walk on stage, and Yuki turned to give his wife one last glance.

"Love you…" He whispered to her, and she gave him a stunningly beautiful smile in return.

Walking with Haru to the stage, and loosing sight of his wife, Yuki began to feel a little nervous. This would be his first live appearance since the very…public…incident. He knew he had let his fans down. Quite frankly, he was a little amazed that this show had received such an overwhelming response. But Yuki had put his heart and soul into this comeback…even going as far as to start up his own independent production label. He was doing this on _his_ terms…no one else's. Yuki still found it hard to swallow that he had Akito to thank for his recent success in the production industry. He'd never really realized how much he had actually learned from Aktio. The man's morality had been nonexistent, but he knew what he was doing with music.

As he stepped out on stage, and saw the eager faces in the crowd, a sense of exhilaration filled Yuki to his very core. All traces of anxiety were gone as he took a seat on the floor, cross-legged in the middle of the stage, microphone in hand. Haru took his own seat on a stool to the side as the crowd looked on in anticipation, some with looks of curiosity as to what they should expect. A smile played across his lips as he held up the mic, knowing…for the first time…exactly what he wanted to say.

"Hello…" He spoke soft and evenly into the mic. "You all may think you know me…but let me reintroduce myself." He paused, taking a breath. "My name is Yuki Sohma…and I'm a recovering addict." And a resounding howl of support came from Haru's headpiece.

"Thank you…" Yuki responded with a chuckle to his friend's show of support, and some of the fans began to whistle and cheer.

"Being an addict…I can assure you guys I have tried and used just about everything." Yuki continued, watching the audience as they sat absorbed in his story.

"I don't think we ever got around to Crystal Meth, man…" Came Haru's response, and the audience began to laugh, causing Yuki to let out a chuckle.

"Nope." He conceded. "Never touched _that_ shit." And more laughter and applause came from the crowd.

"I tell you what, though." Yuki began again, as the crowd quieted down. "One year sober." And they automatically roared back to life in cheers and applause, cutting him off as he laughed.

"Thank you…" He smiled as they continued to whistle and holler, and he waited to begin again.

"One year sober, and every day is just as hard as the one before." He spoke, and the audience sat in rapture as he continued. "But it's worth it."

"So…I came out here to you guys wanting to show you who I _really_ am." Yuki's voice came even again, but an impish grin began to form on the corner of his lips. "But that's going to require me stripping down for you all." His voice came low and a little husky as Haru let out a catcall.

"It's about damn time, man! I've been waiting for _years_!" And the fans roared and cheered in delight.

"Just don't tell my wife about this…" Yuki spoke just above the cheering crowd.

"Oh…she knows. Made sure to get her a front-row seat." Haru snapped back, and the audience cheered even louder.

"But in order to make this work…you guys need to do something for me." Yuki stated, and the crowd quieted down to listen. "I need your participation." He continued, and smiles flashed across the audience.

"Okay…" Yuki began, and the crowd focused on the task at hand.

"Who here has ever wished that they were someone else…raise your hands." Yuki asked, and a few of the people in the crowd raised up their hands, and Yuki removed one of the leather straps from his forearm and threw it into the crowd as they whistled.

"Who here has ever wanted to just give up and throw everything away?" More hands came up, and Yuki removed and tossed another strap into the crowd.

"Who here has endured pain and misery at the hands of the people closest to them?" A few more hands rose up, and another strap went into the crowd.

"Who here has been the cause of their own pain and misery?" Even more hands went up as another strap came off.

"Who here has bore the burden of someone else's messed up shit?" And Haru's voice bellowed through the headset.

"Yo!" He raised his hand enthusiastically, and Yuki gave a scowl in his direction.

"Living with me doesn't count, Haru…you got paid." Yuki hissed into the mic, and Haru gave a smirk.

"Not nearly enough to deal with your ass…" And the fans broke into laughter again, and hands went into the air as another strap sailed into the audience.

"This one…" Yuki removed one of the final straps from his forearm before continuing. "Is for those of us who have endured the pain of losing someone dear to us too soon, before their time." And Yuki gently set his mic down on the floor before standing and moving to kneel in front of Haru as he gently took his arm and placed the strap around his wrist.

"I'm really sorry…" Yuki whispered to Haru, so low that only he could here it, and as he put a gentle hand to Haru's cheek a single tear ran down…and Yuki brushed it away with his thumb as he moved in to embrace his friend.

"Alright." Yuki's voice came into the mic as he took his seat back on the floor. "This is me, guys…" He raised his free arm, bearing his scars to the fans. "This is who I am…where I came from." His voice came low. "This is all of us. We are not alone."

"So what do you say." He smiled at the crowd. "You guys ready for some music?" And the fans broke into loud cheers and whistles.

"You heard 'em. Lay it down, Haru…" And with that Haru began to strum on the guitar as the music cued up.

"This one is for my wife, Machi Sohma. My lover, the mother of my unborn child, my best friend…" Yuki's voice trailed off, becoming low as he cleared his throat. "…and my nurse." And the crowd roared with laughter as Haru let out another catcall. "Thanks for the song…_Maynard_. May you rot in hell, you bastard." And with that the laughter died down once more as Yuki's velvet voice came over the mic.

You carry me places I'd rather be  
Well mannered gardens well tempered seas  
We're gathered in reason I should believe  
That this is different that this isn't free  
How could this be

I'm on my way to better days  
I'll find my faith, I'll find a way  
I'm on my way to better days  
I'll find my faith

I will slip again, and you'll find me  
I will live again, and you'll find me  
Run, but carry the meanings of your past

I'm on my way to better days  
You'll find your faith, you'll find a way  
You're on your way to better days  
You'll find your faith

Oh

I'm on our way to better days  
We'll find our faith, we'll find a way

We're on our way to better days,  
We'll find our faith, we'll find a way  
We're on our way to betters days,  
We'll find our faith

I'm on my way  
I'm on my way to better days  
I'll find my way  
We'll find our faith  
Find our faith

Find our way  
Our way  
Find our way

As the song came to an end the crowd erupted into thunderous applause. Yuki smiled at his fans…their overwhelming love and support. As his gaze panned over their faces, he realized the full weight of his own words. They were not alone…and neither was he. Not anymore. As he continued to absorbed their applause and cheers, he finally found his wife in the crowd, smiling back at him. This was just the beginning… the start…of better days.

**The End**

* * *

**A/N: Featured song lyrics in this story are from the song "Better Days" by Breaking Benjamin. And...in order to get the inside joke about Maynard James Keenan, look up the song "The Nurse Who Loved Me" by A Perfect Circle. Trust me...if you don't...you're missing everything!**


End file.
